1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cooking ovens having a plurality of panels for foodservice cooking operations, and in particular to a multiple panel oven having various sizes of panels for various sizes of ovens and individual controls for heating a conductive side of each panel and a radiant side of each panel. In one embodiment the oven has a convection heating mode of operation in addition to the conduction/radiant mode of operation. Other embodiments do not include the convection mode of operation.
2. Description of Related Art
In many food service operations, the oven appliance is considered to be the workhorse appliance. The oven may be gas or electric powered and has changed very little over many years, although it is typically characterized as being just xe2x80x9cokayxe2x80x9d in baking performance. The biggest complaint by food service operators is with baking uniformity. Current baking ovens provide less than adequate baking which requires the operator, i.e. chef, cook, etc., to continually monitor the baking progress as well as having to rotate and shift the products to achieve the desired results. Considerable work has been performed to improve baking performance. The typical approach has been to manipulate the airflow to xe2x80x9ceven-outxe2x80x9d the heat transfer throughout the oven cavity. Such approaches have produced marginal results as evidenced by today""s best oven performance, and usually do not satisfy most food service operators.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,683,795, issued to Robert G. Sheidler et al., on Jul. 13, 1954, a portable electric cooking oven is disclosed comprising a plurality of vertically spaced trays removably mounted in the oven chamber upon suitable trays which are secured to the sides of the inner casing. Each tray has incorporated therein an electric resistance heating element which is connected to suitable plugs carried by the tray and which engage suitable outlet sockets mounted in the rear wall. Turning on the heating is controlled by an electric switch. When energized the heating elements heat the trays which in turn heat the air in the oven chamber and any utensils on the trays. The oven is designed to cook different foods providing they have the same cooking time at the same temperature. Therefore, foods requiring different cooking temperatures cannot be accommodated by this oven.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,272,317, issued Dec. 21, 1993 to Wook R. Ryu, and assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a cooking oven is disclosed having a cooking compartment with removable shelves. Each shelf includes a frame and a removable resistance heater. The heater plugs into an electrical socket 21 formed in the back wall of the compartment. The heater is of a zig-zag shape, which increases the amount of radiation the heater 34 provides to the surface of the metal grill. In another embodiment, the metal grill comprises thin metal rods using a Z-shaped sheet secured by the periphery of the heater. The heater comprises a heating wire for emitting heat, and a mica sheet having a groove for receiving the heating wire which extends in a zig-zag shape; also, a couple of the mica sheets blanket the upper and lower surfaces of the wire. A tray can be placed on a lower rail and receives radiant heat for cooking another food item. However, there are no individual controls for providing different cooking temperatures for foods placed in the oven.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,273, issued Feb. 24, 1998 to Francese S. Trullas, an oven for receiving and heating cooking vessels is disclosed comprising a plurality of heating units arranged in different parallel planes. A cooking vessel is positionable in association with each heating element on rods. A protecting plate is attached to the rods beneath the rear part of each one of the resistor elements in order to prevent the concentration of heat on the cooking vessel. However, the heating elements are not individually controllable.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,994,673, issued Nov. 30, 1999, to Youssef El-Shoubary et al. and assigned to General Electric Company, a variable volume oven is disclosed which is adjusted according to the cooking load. A heating element is vertically adjustable within the oven to a position that provides better convection and radiative heating to the cooking load. A fixed heating element is located below the top wall of the chamber. In another embodiment a third heating element is added to create another independent oven within the variable volume oven. The first and second ovens can be controlled by adding independent oven controls for each oven. However, this oven does not provide a top heating element for conductive heating and a bottom heating element for radiant heating, each being individually temperature controllable.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,982, issued Jul. 4, 1972 to Edwin D. Hoyt et al., a zone controlled cook oven is disclosed having a plurality of vertically spaced support shelves in a cabinet. The shelves are provided with one or more electric resistance heater elements arranged within the shelves at the time they are cast. Each shelf is provided with a heat sensing element for maintaining the temperature of the shelf. The temperature in each zone is maintained at the set temperature by radiant and conductive heat from the upper and lower shelves which define the zone and by convection of heat about the perimeters of the shelves and through the heat conducting openings about the shelves. A plate placed on the shelf receives heat conducted directly to the plate and the plate is heated by radiant heat from that shelf and the next upper shelf and by convection of heat from the heated ambient atmosphere or air in the zone defined by the shelves and in which the plate and food are deposited. However, this cook oven does not provide for individual temperature controls of the upper and lower heating elements combined into a single shelf.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,935, issued Apr. 11, 1995 to Benno E. Liebermann, a vertical oven cabinet is disclosed having the dual function of heating or cooling food articles. The cabinet comprises a plurality of removable, vertically spaced-apart support shelves of a conductive material. Also, the invention provides for heating and cooking of food articles by circulating a thermal liquid fluid through a heating channel having a serpentine configuration in each shelf. An electrical power conduit is enclosed entirely within each shelf.
It would be beneficial to have a cooking oven that overcomes the limitations of the prior art by improving baking uniformity.
Accordingly, it is therefore an object of this invention to provide a cooking oven having a plurality of panels, each panel having an upper independently controlled conductive heating element and a lower independently controlled radiant heating element.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a cooking oven having a plurality of panels forming cooking zones, each panel having an upper independently controlled heating element for providing conductive and/or radiant heating and a lower independently controlled heating element for providing radiant heating.
It is another object of this invention to provide baking uniformity within baking trays located on any panel within the cooking oven by conductive and/or radiant heating of individual zones.
It is another object of this invention to provide removable panels having upper and lower surface heating elements comprising common types of such elements such as thermal film ink substrates or resistance wire designs such as ni-chrome, the heating elements being separated by an insulation section.
It is another object of this invention to provide a control panel having a keypad user interface to adjust the settings of the heating elements in the panels and multiple displays to convey controller information to the user.
It is another object of this invention to provide various sized cavities in the cooking oven for greater efficiency when cooking foods requiring different cooking vessels by the removal of one or more of the panels.
It is another object of this invention to provide a cooking oven with an independently controlled conductive/radiant mode of operation wherein the independent control pertains to each of the cooking zones between panels as well as to each of the radiant and conductive heating elements within each zone.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a cooking oven with independently controlled conductive/radiant panels as well as a convection mode of operation.
These and other objects are accomplished by a cooking oven comprising a heat insulated cabinet having a top, bottom, rear and side walls and an access door attached to the front of the cabinet, a plurality of heating panels spaced-apart within the cabinet, each of the panels having an upper and a lower surface and comprising means for heating the upper surface of each of the panels and means for heating the lower surface of each of the panels, the upper surface and the lower surface of each panel being separated by insulation, means connected to the heating panels for separately controlling the heat output of each upper surface of each of the plurality of heating panels, and means connected to the heating panels for separately controlling the heat output of each lower surface of each of the plurality of panels. The oven comprises means for providing a convection heating mode of operation. The oven comprises a control panel positioned adjacent to the access door for providing a user interface with controls and displays. The oven comprises a processor connected to the control panel for operating the cooking oven in response to signals received from the control panel. The control panel monitors the electrical current or continuity powering each panel as a means for reconfiguring the size of each of the heating zones formed between the spaced-apart panels. The upper surface of the panels provides conduction heating for a first cooking tray placed on the upper surface of a first one of the heating panels and the lower surface of the first one of the panels provides radiant heating for a second cooking tray placed on an adjacent second one of the panels under the lower surface of the first one of the heating panels. Also, the upper surface of the panels comprises means for providing conduction and radiant heating for a first cooking tray placed on the upper surface of a first one of the heating panels and the lower surface of the first one of the panels provides radiant heating for a second cooking tray placed on an adjacent second one of the panels under the lower surface of the first one of the heating panels. Further, the upper surface of the panels provides radiant heating for a first cooking tray placed slightly above the upper surface of a first one of the heating panels and the lower surface of the first one of the panels provides radiant heating for a second cooking tray placed on or slightly above an adjacent second one of the panels under the lower surface of the first one of the heating panels. The means for separately controlling the heat output of the upper surface of the plurality of heating panels comprises a software routine operating in response to control signals from a user interface panel. The means for separately controlling the heat output of the lower surface of the plurality of heating panels comprises a software routine operating in response to control signals from a user interface panel. Each of the upper surface of each of the panels and each of the lower surface of each of the panels comprises a metal substrate, a dielectric applied to the metal substrate, and a thermal film ink bonded to the dielectric. The dielectric comprises a borosilicate glass. In an alternate embodiment, the upper surface of the panels and the lower surface of the panels comprises a resistive element embedded in an insulative bed. The oven comprises means for enabling each of the panels to be connected or disconnected from the cooking oven.
The objects are further accomplished by a heating panel of a cooking oven having upper and lower surfaces comprising means for separately heating the upper surface and the lower surface, the upper surface and the lower surface being separated by insulation, and means for controlling the heating means in response to operator inputs to a user interface panel. The upper surface may comprise peaks and valleys for providing conductive and radiant heating. Each surface comprises a metal substrate, a dielectric applied to the metal substrate, and a thermal film ink bonded to the dielectric. The dielectric comprises a borosilicate glass. In an alternate embodiment, each of the upper surface and the lower surface of the heating panel comprises a resistive element embedded in an insulative bed.
The objects are further accomplished by a cooking oven comprising a plurality of cooking zones, each of the cooking zones being formed by an upper heating panel and a lower heating panel, each heating panel comprises an upper heating surface and a lower heating surface separated by insulation, and means for separately controlling the heat output of the upper heating surface and the lower heating surface of the heating panel forming said cooking zones. The oven comprises means for providing a convection heating mode of operation. The oven comprises a control panel positioned adjacent to an access door for providing a user interface with controls and displays. The cooking oven comprises means for varying the sizes of each of the cooking zones. The upper heating surface of the heating panel provides conduction heating in a first one of the plurality of cooking zones for a first cooking tray placed on the upper heating surface of a first heating panel and the lower heating surface of the first heating panel provides radiant heating in a second one of the plurality of cooking zones for a second cooking tray placed on an adjacent second heating panel under the lower heating surface of the first heating panel. Also, the upper heating surface of the heating panel comprises means for providing conduction and radiant heating in a first one of the plurality of cooking zones for a first cooking tray placed on the upper heating surface of a first heating panel and the lower heating surface of the first heating panel provides radiant heating in a second one of the plurality of cooking zones for a second cooking tray placed on an adjacent second heating panel under the lower heating surface of the first heating panel. Further, the upper heating surface of the heating panel provides radiant heating in a first one of the plurality of cooking zones for a first cooking tray placed slightly above the upper heating surface of a first heating panel and the lower heating surface of the first heating panel provides radiant heating in a second one of the plurality of cooking zones for a second cooking tray placed on or slightly above an adjacent second heating panel under the lower heating surface of the first heating panel. The means for separately controlling the heat output of the upper heating surface and the lower heating surface of each of the heating panels comprises a software routine operating in response to control signals from a user interface panel. The oven comprises means for enabling each of the panels to be connected or disconnected from the cooking oven.
The objects are further accomplished by a cooking oven comprising at least one cooking zone, formed by a lower heating element of a first heating panel and an upper heating element of a second heating panel positioned below the first heating panel in the oven, each heating panel comprises an upper heating surface and a lower heating surface separated by insulation, and means for independently controlling the heat output of the upper heating surface and the lower heating surface of each heating panel forming said cooking zone. The oven comprises means for providing a convection heating mode of operation. The oven comprises a control panel positioned adjacent to an access door for providing a user interface with controls and displays. The upper heating surface of the second heating panel provides conduction heating for a cooking tray placed on the upper heating surface of the second heating panel and the lower heating surface of the first heating panel provides radiant heating for the cooking tray placed on the second heating panel below the lower heating surface of the first heating panel. Also, the upper heating surface of the second heating panel comprises means for conduction and radiant heating for a cooking tray placed on the upper heating surface of the second heating panel and the lower heating surface of the first heating panel provides radiant heating for the cooking tray placed on the second heating panel below the lower heating surface of the first heating panel. Further, the upper heating surface of the second heating panel provides radiant heating for a cooking tray placed slightly above the upper heating surface of the second heating panel and the lower heating surface of the first heating panel provides radiant heating for the cooking tray placed slightly above the second heating panel below the lower heating surface of the first heating panel.
The objects are further accomplished by a method of providing a cooking oven comprising the steps of providing a heat insulated cabinet having a top, bottom, rear and side walls and an access door attached to the front of the cabinet, positioning a plurality of heating panels spaced-apart within the cabinet, each of the panels having an upper and a lower surface and comprising means for heating the upper surface of each of the panels and means for heating the lower surface of each of the panels, the upper surface and the lower surface of each panel being separated by insulation, controlling individually the upper surface heating means for each of the panels, and controlling individually the lower surface heating means for each of the panels. The method comprises the step of providing a convection heating mode of operation. The step of positioning a plurality of heating panels within the cabinet, each of the panels having an upper surface and a lower surface and comprising means for heating the upper surface and the lower surface further comprises the step of providing means for conductive heating and radiant heating a first cooking tray placed on the upper surface of a first one of the heating panels and the lower surface of the first one of the panels providing radiant heating for a second cooking tray placed on an adjacent second one of the heating panels under the lower surface of the first one of the heating panels. The step of positioning a plurality of heating panels spaced-apart within the cabinet, each of the panels having an upper and a lower surface further comprises the step of providing the upper surface with peaks and valleys for conductive and radiant heating. The step of controlling individually the upper surface heating means for each of the panels comprises the step of providing a software routine to operate in response to control signals from a user interface panel. The step of controlling individually the lower surface heating means for each of the panels comprises the step of providing a software routine to operate in response to control signals from a user interface panel.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.